The Big Finish Hasn't Come Yet
by LoLoBubbles
Summary: The Tonys may be over, but broadway isn't done yet! Not even close. Ana will have to choose in between two shows, Karen in between two guys. Ivy will make her decision in between her baby and her career, Derek in between what he wants and what is right. Julia in between her family and love life, Tom in between the same lovely life or change, and Eileen... See inside for the rest!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I love SMASH, and was really disappointed when it got canceled, and I hated the ending, so I decided to write this, which is supposed to be the season 3 of SMASH (except for the songs because I can't imagine writing the characters randomly bursting out in song), in an attempt to fix the big problems with the ending (I'm looking at you, Ivy and Derek). I hope you like it, assuming anyone actually reads it!**

**Summary: ****_The Tonys may be over, but broadway isn't done yet! Not even close. Ana will have to choose in between two shows, Karen in between two guys. Ivy will make her decision in between her baby and her career, Derek in between what he wants and what is right. Julia in between her family and love life, Tom in between the same lovely life or change and Eileen will have to make a choice: money and fame, or happiness. Sometimes you'll choose the easy way out, or go for what you want, no matter how impossible it seems. Sometimes you can have both, or neither. But sometimes, you don't get to choose._**

**Pairings: Derek/Karen (Cartwills), Ivy/Jimmy, Julia/Michael, Tom/Patrick Dillon.**

Chapter 1:

Karen woke up to the sound of someone banging at her door. She groaned.

It was the morning after the Tonys. Karen and Ana had stayed up late drinking, and Karen was in no mood to even consider getting out of bed before eleven. Oh wait, what time is it? 11:05? Okay, Karen was in no mood to even consider getting out of bed before twelve.

She lay her head back on her pillow, but whoever was at the door banged again.

"Karen, would you get that?" Ana yelled grumpily, sending a sharp pain through Karen's brain.

"Oooow... Why don't you get it?" Karen yelled back, still closing her eyes.

"I'm the one with no job! You should pity me!" Ana yelled back. She clearly had a better tolerance for alcohol than Karen did, because she didn't sound that hungover, and she had drunk as much, if not more, than Karen.

Karen stayed in bed another few seconds before getting up and putting on her dressing gown. She went to the door and swung it open, flinching at the sound of the door as it banged against the wall.

"Karen..." the young man said, grinning.

"Jimmy?" Karen asked. She had just recovered from the shock of the noise the door had made, and now she had an entirely new shock to recover from.

Jimmy walked over to Karen, giving her a hug, before going to Kyle's Tony, where he spun the little star.

"Wha-? What are you doing here?" Karen asked. She was too hungover for this.

"Oh, right! You're probably wondering how I'm here!" Jimmy said, giddy like a child. "I stayed there for the whole night, and at around 10 a.m. a guy came to tell me I was released because I was a minor when it all happened. So I immediately went to get a cab to your place, but then I realized I didn't have any cash or a phone, so I had to walk. So finally I made it here, and... that's it!" Jimmy said. He looked at Karen, as if he were expecting her to react in some way.

"Wow... Jimmy, that's... great." Karen said.

"You're not smiling." Jimmy pointed out, his smile fading.  
"What? No, Jimmy... I just have a headache, that's all." Karen reassured, giving him a small smile.

Jimmy didn't looked convinced, he was about to say something when Ana interrupted.

"Hey! Jimmy! What are you doing here? We thought you were in jail!" Ana said, giving Jimmy a hug. Her smile was much brighter than Karen's had been.

"I got let out cuz I was a minor when it happened. But I sold my apartment, so can I stay with you guys for a while?" Jimmy asked, as Karen headed back to her room. This broadway star needed her sleep!

***

"Hey..." Ivy whispered, a smile forming on her lips. She just woke up, and decided maybe it was time for Derek to do the same.

"Hey!" He said, before yawning. The previous night, Ivy had told him he was going to be a father. Derek had promised he would take care of her and the baby.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Ivy asked, smiling giddily. They had talked about her moving in with him yesterday, but they had decided that would be moving too fast. But Ivy had said she'd be willing to stay at his place for today.

"What do you want to do?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ivy grinned. "Well..." she started. There were many things she wanted to do today. Most of them just involved spending a day relaxing with Derek.  
The phone rang, interrupting her in mid-sentence.

"Ugh. Hold that thought!" Derek groaned. He picked up the phone.

"Yeah?... Yeah, yeah, sure, no problem!... Okay... see you then... Okay." He said, before hanging up.

"I'm sorry, love. Jerry wants to talk to me about something. I'll be back in a few hours. Do you mind?" He asked, getting up and starting to get dressed.

"Umm, no. No, it's fine." Ivy said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Derek gave her his signature smile and kissed her before exiting the apartment.

***

"Wow, Julia... This... This is great!" Michael said, still holding her rough draft for "The Great Gatsby".

"You think so?" Julia smiled. She had planned on giving up on the idea, but Michael had encouraged her this morning to continue it.

"Well, everything you do is great, I don't see why this would be an exception!" he said, before kissing the beautiful redhead sitting next to him.

"Do you have anything you think I should change, though?" Julia asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Well, only the first act, but–" Michael joked.

"But I didn't even write the second act yet!" Julia said, pretending to be offended.

"That's the point!" Michael smiled. Julia slapped him on the arm.

"Shut up!" she laughed.

"So are you going to be working with Tom on this?" Michael asked. Julia's smile faded.

"Actually, I was planning on making it a play, not a musical." Julia said.

"Oh..." Michael didn't mean to make Julia sad.

"God, I love your place!" Julia said as she looked around her, eager to change subject.

Julia's phone started ringing, and Julia went to pick it up.

Julia looked confused, but she picked up anyway.

"Hi, Frank. Uh-uh... Umm, actually, I'm not at my place..." Julia said. Michael could see slight panic in her eyes.

***

Tom sat on his sofa, phone in hand. He had been contempling the idea of calling Patrick Dillon ever since he woke up at eight this morning.  
Originally, he had decided to just wait for him to call him about the movie, but that could take days! Tom wasn't that patient! He had already been waiting all his life for Patrick, and he was sick of waiting!

Of course, there was another problem: Tom had used up all of his courage to kiss Patrick last night, and he doubted he had enough left to press on the call button.  
He had attempted to several times, but each time, he just couldn't bring himself to do it!

Tom sighed. This time, he was going to do it. He was going to call Patrick Dillon.

Here we go.

Tom sighed once more in exasperation. He just couldn't!  
He threw the phone to his side, where it neatly landed on a cushion. He got up to go and get breakfast.  
"Why should I call him? He should call me!" Tom thought. It was the fifth time he had changed his mind on the subject, but this time he was determined this was the right decision.

He grabbed a bowl, and poured some cereal and milk into it. He was about to start quenching his hunger when his phone rang. Immediately, Tom left his kitchen table and ran to his sofa, where his phone was.

"Scratch what I said earlier: he loves me!" Tom thought, jumping to his phone and picking up before even checking who was calling. He was pretty sure he knew.

"Patrick?" Tom asked, grinning like an idiot and trying not to sound too happy.

"What? No, it's Ivy!" a feminine voice that definitely wasn't Patrick's said.

"Oh. Hi, Ivy. Why are you calling?" Tom asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Are you alright? You seem disappointed! Should I call back another time or–?" Ivy asked.

"No, no, it's fine! What are you calling me for?" Tom asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Umm, there's something I need to tell you and... I would like it to be in person. Can you come over to Derek's apartment?" Ivy asked.

"Okaaay... But, why are you at Derek's?" Tom asked, confused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, and Welcome to the Big Finish Hasn't Come Yet Chapter 2! I may have forgotten to mention previously that I do not own Smash or any of it's characters. If I did, Jimmy would be gay and Kyle would NOT be dead. And Cartwills would be canon. But I don't own it, and Smash is cancelled, so Karen and Derek only get together in my fics and other's. **

**So enjoy!**

Chapter 2:

"Come on. I know I let you down before, but... I'll make it up to you, I promise!... I'll buy you all those diamonds you always wanted!... Listen, I know you're still mad at me, but, deep down, you know we were great together! Everyone envied us!... From the sound of your voice, I bet you want to throw a glass of–" Jerry stopped, as Derek entered his office. "Umm, I'm going to have to call you back, but I'm not giving up! Not yet!" Jerry said, hanging up. He looked over at the british director, annoyed.

"You called?" Derek said in a sarcastic tone, bowing.

"Here, my assistant wrote this down. This is what I want you to do!" Jerry said, handing Derek a file. The middle aged man flipped through the pages.

"Couldn't you have told me this over the phone?" Derek asked.

Jerry smirked. "Well, I couldn't be bothered to do any of the talking, and I want you to get to it right away, so I thought I might as well make sure you get out of the house!"

Derek didn't respond.

"Go!" Jerry ordered, his tone turning serious.

Derek made an annoyed groan before leaving Jerry's office.

"Assistant!" Jerry called. The skinny young man walked in, looking nervous.

"Umm, my name is Jeffrey, sir." he said. Jerry sighed.

"I don't care what you're called! Just get the car ready, I'm going somewhere!" he shouted.

"Yes, sir. But...Where are we going?" he asked.

"Eileen Rand's apartment! And no, I don't have her address, you'll have to figure that out yourself, Jeremy! See, I remember your name, now are you happy?" Jerry asked, storming out the door.

"That's still not my name, sir!" Jeffrey said.

***

"...And let me be the star!" Karen bellowed out, imagining all the empty seats were full. It had been exactly a year since she had sung this song. A bit less since she left Bombshell.

She didn't regret it. Hitlist was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. But… so was Bombshell. Karen couldn't help thinking that if she had stayed, she would have got the Tony, and not Ivy. But another part of her told her she was crazy: Tom was Ivy's director. Karen's was Derek. She wouldn't have left Hitlist if he hadn't.

Karen sighed. She really wanted to talk to him. Sometimes, or all the time, it felt like he was the only one who she could talk to about these things. Ivy took broadway seriously, which was what Karen needed, but Ivy getting a Tony was one of the things Karen was upset about. Ana was great for giving advice, which was good when the problem was fixable, but she was terrible at simply listening. Jimmy just wasn't serious about show business. He loved writing and singing, but Karen had a feeling he liked drugs and sex better. Sure, he was trying to change, but he hadn't yet.

Karen closed her eyes, and visualized a room full of people, giving her a standing novation. That alway relaxed her.

"Well. If it isn't for Mrs Cartwright!" an english man said.

"Derek!" Karen turned around to face him, grinning uncontrollably.

"Did you miss me, love?" he asked, kissing her on the forehead.

"I saw you yesterday!" Karen pointed out. Derek laughed.

There was a comfortable silence.

"So what are you doing here?" Karen spoke up.

"Well I just went to your apartment and ran into Ana. She told me you were here, so I came. You?"

"I came here to think! Why were you looking for me?" Karen asked.

"I don't know. I wanted to talk." he said.

"Me too..."

Derek smiled. There were only a few people who didn't hate him. She was the only one he could talk to about things. He was sure she had plenty of people she could go to, but he didn't. He was grateful for her presence.

"I have chinese!" Derek said, raising the plastic bag he was holding. Karen smiled, as they went to sit down in the front row seats.  
There was a comfortable silence and gossip for the whole meal. Finally, Karen asked the question that had been killing her.

"So, you and Ivy, huh?" Karen asked, finishing her noodles.

"Yeah." Derek answered, still very interested in his soup. He turned his eyes away from his meal long enough to glance at Karen.

"You're frowning!" he smirked.

"What? No, I'm not!" Karen said, just now noticing.

"Aaaand now you're blushing!" Derek chuckled.

"Shut up!" Karen said, covering her cheeks with her hands.

***

"So... Should I hide?" Michael asked, as Julia ran around. This morning, Frank announced Leo and he wanted to come to her place to congratulate her on the Tony. Julia said they could stay for dinner. So they had immediately gone over to Julia's place in order to organize something, and hadn't even addressed the Michael problem. Leo and Frank were to arrive in five minutes.

"Umm, I don't know... do you want to?" Julia asked. She was setting the table when she heard the smoke alarm go off.

"Oh, no no no no no!" she rushed over to her oven, where the chicken was cooking. She opened it and took the burnt bird out.  
"No! It's ruined!"

"Julia, I think we have a bigger issue!" Michael said.

Julia turned to him, a tear running down her cheek. "I'm not ready for this! I'm just going to call and cancel!" she said, walking over to the phone.

"Julia–" Michael called, but got interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

"Speak of the devil!" Julia muttered, answering the phone.

"Hi, Frank… uh-huh… umm, no, why?… What do you mean?… Ugh, that's just great!" Julia hung up.

"What happened?" Michael asked. Julia grabbed her coat.

"Leo got arrested!" she said.

***

"You're pregnant?!" Tom asked, shocked.

"Yes, That's what I just–" Ivy started.

"With Derek's baby?" Tom asked.

"Yes! I just said that! Weren't you listening?" Ivy stated.

Tom was quiet for a few seconds, stunned that Derek could be a father to anyone. Finally, he asked: "does he know?"

"Yes!" Ivy said.

"So you and Derek are a thing now?" Tom asked.

"Yes, I think."

"You think?"

"Well... Derek said he would be a better man, but I don't know... Is he really ready?" Ivy asked, looking up at Tom, pleading for an answer.

"Hey, don't ask me!" Tom said, raising his hands. "Derek and I have decided that instead of hating each other, we should just not see one another. I have to admit, working on different musicals definitely makes it easier." Tom said. Ivy frowned, not quite satisfied with what she just heard.

"Oh, come on, Ivy. Cheer up!" Tom pleaded, scooting closer to her.

"So what are we going to do about the musical?" Ivy asked. It felt with one simple fun night, her whole life would have to change: she would probably have to settle down with derek, and most importantly, quit her job. She kept saying she was afraid Derek wasn't ready, but what really terrified her was that she wasn't ready herself. For now, Tom suggested her understudy take over. But after that? would Ivy be a stay at home mom, or continue her career? As much as Ivy wanted to stay on broadway, she did not want to become her mom: unavailable and cruel. It was an impossible choice. An impossible choice that she had to make!

"I'm going back to bed!" Ivy announced. Once she was gone, Tom's phone rang.

Tom grabbed his phone. This time, he checked who was calling. It was… It was… Jerry.

Tom sighed before picking up. he was too disappointed to even bother wondering why Jerry was calling him.

"Hello?… Yeah, this is Tom… A party?…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, So here is the third chapter! I hope you like it! Don't hesitate to leave any recommendations or opinions in the comments below! **

Chapter 3:

"Ivy, what are you doing here?" Tom asked. "I was about to tell Sarah that she'll have to take over for you!" he announced.

"Look, I understand that eventually I will have to go on maternity leave, but for the moment I'm perfectly fit to perform!" she said. Tom frowned.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" she assured.

"Okay, you go on as Marilyn for the time being, but soon, we'll have to have a serious talk about this! You can't go on for ever!" Tom warned. Ivy nodded, showing that she understood.

"Okay. Go practice 'never give all the heart'." he said.

Tom sighed. Ivy was one of his best friends and he loved her, but she sure could be stubborn sometimes. Tom turned around and saw Julia coming in. He walked up to her.

"You're late!" he pointed out.

"I know. Leo got arrested. We went to the police station, where we had to fill in lots of papers. When Leo got out, we lectured him for two hours about how hitting a cop is bad, even though he claims he didn't do it on purpose. With all the commotion, I forgot to set the alarm, so I arrived half an hour late to my meeting with Patrick Dillon, which he didn't seem to mind, but that still meant that the meeting ended half an hour late. I came her straight after." Julia explained.

"Wait! You had a meeting with Patrick?" Tom asked, shocked.

"Yes, I told you about it yesterday." Julia frowned.

"Umm, no, you didn't!" Tom announced.

"Yes, I did!" Julia insisted.

"No, you didn't!" Tom said, mimicking Julia's voice.

Julia breathed out of her nose strongly, which meant she was angry. She opened her bag and got her phone out. She selected something on her phone, and showed it to Tom. On the screen were the latest texts Julia and he had exchanged.

JULIA: Hey! Just talked with Patrick Dillon. I'm having a meeting with him tomorrow about the movie!

TOM: K.

Tom's eyes widened. He had no recollection of that!

"See!" Julia said, in her I-just-won-the-argument tone. Tom was speechless. How could he have just let an opportunity to see Patrick again slip away like this?

***

"Morning!" Ana said, grinning.

"Well, you're in an unusually good mood this morning!" Karen mused.

"Yeah, well, Derek came by yesterday. You'll never guess what happened!" Ana announced. Karen frowned. She was aware Derek had stopped by yesterday, looking for her, but she didn't know Derek and Ana had had much of a conversation. She felt a weird feeling in her stomach. She suddenly felt a bit cross at her best friend. It was almost as if she was jealous. But that couldn't be it! Karen wasn't in love with Derek. Sure she had been attracted to him when she first met him, but at the time, there was Dev! Then, of course, when she dumped him, she considered dating Derek, but then she met Jimmy! Of course, now that she thought about it, she—

"Derek gave me the part of the Diva back!" Ana said, snapping Karen out of her thoughts.

Karen took a few seconds to react. "Oh– Oh, my god! Congratulations!" she said, giving her roommate a hug. Ana was thrilled. they popped open a bottle and champagne. they drank one glass each. Finally, Karen asked a question that marked the start of Ana's problems.

"But— Don't you already have a show?" she asked. Ana frowned.

"Oh My God! I had completely forgotten!" she said, putting her hand over her mouth. She sat down on the couch slowly, her eyes not leaving the wall in front of her.

Karen sat at her side, looking at her with concern. Things rarely seemed to go Ana's way in show business. Every so often she would get an awesome role, but most of the time she didn't have any. This situation was unlike the others. Instead of not having a role, she had two. Two that she wanted with all her heart.

"What are you going to do?" Karen asked softly, "Don't you have a tour in a few days?"

"No." Ana answered, still not looking at Karen. "No, that got canceled. The show is happening right here on broadway." she said.

"What— Which show are you going to choose?" Karen asked, knowing fully well Ana had to choose one. There wasn't any other way.

Ana finally looked at her friend. The despair in her eyes had been replaced by determination. It was when Ana looked like this that Karen knew Ana was up to something, and no one could stop her.

"Both." she said, before getting up and striding to her room, her determination visible in the way she moved. Karen was awe-struck. Very few people had that confidence and determination, and Ana was one of them.

Karen would have gotten up to try and reason with Ana, but at that instant Jimmy walked in.

"Hey! What's up with the long face?" he asked grinning like an idiot. Karen rolled her eyes. She had been head over heels with Jimmy before the Tonys. Everything he did made her swoon. He was like a struggling artist, and that was attractive. There had been a time where he disgusted her, when she found out about his past. But then, the way he accepted Kyle's Tony and honored him, finding out that he was willing to go to prison for her, it made her love him again. Now that he was 'back' from jail, he was that guy that disgusted her again. He no longer had any commitments and took everything for granted. He told her he wasn't on drugs anymore, and she believed him, but now, a sliver of doubt had found it's way into her mind, and it had no intention of getting out.

"Ana accidentally accepted to star in two shows!" she said, getting up to greet him. She didn't bother to tell him that one of the shows was his. Not that he would care, anyway.

"Ouch! That's gotta be tough!" Jimmy laughed.

"I'm going out!" Karen said, putting on her coat.

"Whaaat? But it's like, only eleven in the morning!" Jimmy said.

"Yeah, I know. But I didn't get up 5 minutes ago. Oh, and your eyes are red, by the way!" she said, leaving the apartment.

She didn't really go anywhere. She just wandered New York City. She took a walk in Central park.

She got a text from Jimmy, wondering where she had gone. She was wondering whether she should answer or not, when she bumped into someone, dropping her phone.

"Damn it!" she said, leaning down to get it up. When she stood up again, she was surprised to see who was standing in front of her.

"Derek?" she asked, forgetting all about her phone

"Hey, if it isn't for my favorite actress!" he said.

"You mean second favorite actress." Karen said.s

"What?"

"Nothing!" she had been talking about Ivy, but she really didn't want to have a conversation about their couple again.

"Hey, Jerry's throwing a big fancy party this friday. Want to come?" he asked.

"Umm, yeah, sure!" Karen said. She didn't know if she was free friday, but she hoped she was.

"Okay, see you then!" Derek said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He walked away. Karen didn't realize she was grinning until then.

Her smile quickly faded as Karen realized something.

***

Julia entered her apartment and threw her bag onto her couch. She was about to flop down on the couch when she heard something.

"Hi mom!" her son's voice said.

"Leo! What are you doing here? You scared me?" Julia said.

"I... umm... I miss you..." Leo said. Julia's heart melted to those words.

"Oh, Leo. I miss you too!" she said, giving her son a hug.

They stayed that way for a minute. Finally, Leo announced:

"Mom, I want to move in with you!"

"But... What about college?" Julia asked.

"It starts in september. I want to live with you for the summer."

Julia didn't know how to answer. What about his father? When would she tell him about Michael. Before she could consider anything else, the words slipped out of her mouth.

"Yes. Of course you can!" she said.

***

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Ana mumbled to herself, as she ran to the rehearsals of "To kill two birds with one stone", which was starting around about... 5 minutes ago. Damn it!

She was about to enter the building when she bumped into someone.

"Ana Vargas?" the redhead asked. Ana didn't know what to say. What could you say to someone who stole your job, and you just stole it back?

"Daisy!" Ana said, her voice higher than usual.

"Having trouble controlling your pitch?" Daisy asked in that annoying I'm better that you tone.

"No!" Ana said, a bit too quickly. "Now if you excuse me, I have a rehearsal to go too!" she added, not mentioning whet show the rehearsal was for.

Ana started to walk away, but as she did, Daisy said: "Well, you might have a show, but I have a tony!" she raised her eyebrow defiantly at Ana and gave her an evil smirk.

"What?" Ana barked. She would have slapped Daisy across the face just then, like she had wanted to for weeks, but she decided against it. She turned around and walked towards the building.

"Everyone knows I was a better Diva than you!" Daisy shouted, as Ana tried to ignore her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, ladies and gentledudes, here it is— the one— the only:… Chapter 4!**

**Please tell me what you think, and if you have any recomandations, leave a review or PM me! :) Enjoy!**

Chapter 4:

"Honey, I'm home!" Ana said, entering the apartment.

"Hey!" Karen greeted. She was sitting on the couch. Most of her nail varnish was scraped off, which was a sign that she was nervous.

"You okay? Where's lover boy?" Ana asked. Karen sighed.

"Jimmy's out!" Karen announced.

"Okay. And why are you nervous?"

Karen looked anxious. she took a deep breath, then spoke. "I have a problem, and I need your help!"

* * *

"Umm, yes. I'll have a Caesar salad, please." Ivy told the waiter, who wrote it down before going off to another table.

Ivy looked around her. She hated having lunch alone. There was no one she could talk to when waiting for her food. In fact, there was absolutely nothing she could do right now, and Ivy hated when that happened.

She liked observing people, though. Especially in the middle of Manhattan, where there was no such thing as 'typical'.

For example, there was that group of young people drinking a ridiculous amount of alcohol and mocking Canada (Ivy didn't know what that was about, though); the blonde woman, a little boy, and a guy dressed as a pirate having a heated discussion; the crippled man discussing some dangerous disease with a few other people, occasionally cracking a joke about the woman next to him's ass; that guy wearing a bow tie and a fez talking to a short brunette, the handsome young guy rolling a joint, the two... wait – handsome young guy rolling a joint?

"Jimmy?" Ivy asked. She thought he was in prison. When he didn't respond, she called again. "Jimmy, get over here!" she hissed. He turned towards her, just noticing her presence. He grabbed his beer, and walked over to her, sitting down in front of her.

"Hi, Ivy. What do you want?" he asked.

"What are you doing? I thought you stopped drugs!" Ivy grabbed the weed out of his hand before he could stick it into his mouth.

"I don't know! I thought I did, but then on my way back to Karen's some dude offered it to me and I— I..." his voice started to crack up. "I'm just confused, okay! I lost my best friend! I tried to make things right by going to jail, but they let me out! And now, Karen hates me! What do you expect me to do? At least weed is always there for me!" he said, getting angry.

He got up quickly and tried to storm out of the bar, but Ivy grabbed his sleeve to stop him. He only stopped for a second, but that was enough for Ivy to get in front of him and slap him across the face.

"Ow! What– What was that for?" Jimmy asked, rubbing his cheek.

"You need to toughen up, okay? You can't just whine until you get your way! If you want to make things right, then do something about it! Because the way you are now, it's normal that Karen hates you!" Ivy said, letting go of his sleeve harshly and walking over to her table, where the food had arrived.

Jimmy just stared at her, left speechless. How could someone say something so harsh and then just go back to eating?

It wasn't that Jimmy was angry at her, though. In fact, he was sort of impressed…

* * *

"You're in love with him?" Ana asked, dumbfounded.

"What? No, I just said I like him as more than a friend!" Karen said.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot we were in middle school!" Ana said.  
"Haha!" Karen said sarcastically.

"So what are you going to about it?" Ana asked, suddenly getting serious.

"I don't know, that's why I came to you!" Karen explained.

"Okaaaay… What do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know! I don't want to be with him, but at the same time I do! And what about Ivy– She does deserve it, I guess, but in the same time she's nice now, and– What about Jimmy? I can't just keep stringing him along, but–" Karen started rambling.

"You've got it bad!" Ana chuckled, taking a sip from her drink.

"I knooow!" Karen cupped her head in her hands. Ana laughed.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. We'll call it: 'Operation Derek'!" Ana said.

"…'Operation Derek?'? Seriously?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, just to enforce the idea of us being middle schoolers!" Ana grinned.

"Okay, so what is this 'operation Derek'?" Karen asked.

"We try to find out how he feels about you. We know he has some feelings for you, because those don't disappear over night, but we need to know how strong they are." Ana explained.

"I don't even know how strong mine are!" Karen exclaimed.

"—And then we make him realize he loves you, and not Ivy!" Ana said, as if it were obvious.

"And how do we do that?" Karen raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know! I don't have the answer to everything! Jeez!" Ana said.

* * *

"Hey, Eileen, what's up?" Tom asked. Eileen had called him to her office. She said it was urgent.

Eileen turned around in her chair, to face Tom. She kind of looked like a James Bond villain."Are you or are you not going to Jerry's party next week?" she asked, a stern look on her face.

"Umm... Maybe..." Tom said.

"Tom! ARE you, or are you NOT?" Eileen asked.

"Yes." Tom admitted with a tiny voice. He was bracing himself for whatever Eileen was about to throw onto him.

Eileen sat back, a contemplative look on his face.

"He wants me back." she stated.

"What? Really?" Tom asked.

"Yeah. He found out the shows he produced brought in 0.4% more when we were married."

"Wow. What are you going to do?" Tom asked.

"This is a war, Tom, and I intend on winning it." Eileen stood up and grabbed he handbag. She walked to the door, turning around when she got there. "We're going to the party together. You'll pick me up at 7 PM. And no, Jerry doesn't know you're gay, and he has better not find out." she said, before swinging the door open and heading out of her office.

Tom was left in there, speechless. When he finally cleared up his thoughts, he rushed after the producer.

"Wait, what about Nick? Aren't you dating him?"

"Yes, but Jerry doesn't know that. As far as he is concerned, I'm single. And Nick is visiting his family in Canada. He wouldn't impress Jerry, anyway. He wouldn't even try. He doesn't care about what other people think of him. And even if he did try, he wouldn't have the first clue about how to behave." she turned towards Tom. "Which is why I need you. You're a fantastic actor, you know how to behave in an upper class manner, you have a great culture, and Jerry will never guess you're gay unless you give him a reason too. All he'll notice is how expensive your suit is. You do have an expensive suit, right?" she asked.

"Er, yeah?" Tom said.

"You don't seem sure."

"I don't know if it's expensive enough!" Tom justified.

Eileen sighed. "I'll have a suit ready for you when you get to my place." She walked away, and before Tom could catch up with her, she stepped into a cab and it drove off.

* * *

"So you just said "yes"? Without even telling him about us?" Michael asked, as he and Julia walked back towards her apartment.

"You know, Michael, if you have a problem with Leo moving in with me, you could have told me about it before I went to talk with Frank about it!" Julia stated.

"It's not that I have a problem with Leo moving in with you. I just think that maybe we should have warned Leo first. There's no going back now, with Frank going off on a three month vacation and all." Michael pointed out.

"Oh, so you think he would change his mind? Simply by finding out we're dating?" Julia stopped and faced Michael, crossing her arms.

"Er… yes…" Michael admitted.

"I'm his mother! He loves me, and he's not going to refuse to live with me just because I'm dating you. Maybe if we lived together, he would, but we don't. Sure, it will be hard for him, but he'll accept it. Many other teenagers have to deal with their parent dating whoever that parent left or cheated on the other parent for, and they get through it!" Julia said.

"Yes, I'm sure he wouldn't go back to live with Frank in normal circumstances, but maybe now that he _has_ to stay with you he'll suddenly feel trapped." Michael stated. "Remember when he ran away a year ago?" he asked.

Julia looked hesitant. "I— I don't have to stand here and argue with you about this!" she said, as she stormed off towards her apartment.

Michael walked after her. He tried catching up with her several times, but each time she went a little bit faster, leaving him behind once more. After a few minutes of this, Michael decided that he wouldn't let her run away this time. They had nearly reached her building, and he didn't have a key. If Julia locked him out, he wouldn't get a chance to reason with her.

"Julia, wait!" he ran up to her and grabbed her wrist. Julia reluctantly came to a stop. She stared at him straight in the eyes, and angry stare that was enough to scare anyone away. But Michael had faced that stare enough times to not to be scared by it.  
Well, he wasn't as scared as most people would be.

"I—" he started, but stopped when he saw a black cloud rising from behind a building, around where Julia's building was.

"You…? " Julia asked, still irritated.

"Julia, there's smoke coming from your building!" Michael announced. Julia turned around, her expression going from anger to disbelief to shock in a second.

They both ran to her building, to see what had happened.

When they got there, they looked up, not bothering to catch their breath. Sure enough, there was a fire. But not the usual, flames coming out of a window type of fire. This was the big, whole building burning kind of fire.

Julia looked up at the fire in shock, her eyes watering. Everything she owned: gone up in flames!

"I'm gonna go and check if anyone got hurt." Michael said. He hesitated, then kissed Julia before walking up to a fireman.

Julia just stood there, having a hard time coming to terms with her home burning down.  
It wasn't that she had lost a valued item. Most of her work and prizes were at Michael's. She had brought them to show them to him. Her necklace she was given at 17 was around her neck, and her USB key with everything on it was in her bag, as well as her smart phone and her iPod. No, it wasn't that she lost anything special, it was just…

Julia felt a tear run down her cheek. Before she knew it, she was crying uncontrollably, as Michael rushed over to comfort her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, here is the 5th chapter you've all been waiting for. Huzzah! **

**Anyways, I'll have a lot more time to work on my writing in the next few weeks, so I should have the next chapter ready in a few days. But for now, enjoy this chapter! :D**

Chapter 5:

"Karen! Karen! Look!" Ana rushed over to Karen as soon as tonight's show of Hitlist ended.

"What?" Karen asked, as she took off her shirt.

"Derek's over there!" Ana pointed at somewhere in the back of the room. Ana thought she saw Karen blushing, but she couldn't be sure. The lighting in the backstage wasn't that good.

"Yeah, so?" Karen asked, already regretting having told Ana about her newfound feelings.

"So, go talk to him!" Ana gave Karen a teasing grin.

"No way, I'm in the middle of changing! I'll go later!" Karen said, as she put on a jacket.

"No, you're going n— Oh, wait, no! Derek's coming over right now!" Ana said.

"What?!" Karen asked as she quickly brushed her hair and made sure she looked good in the mirror.

"Hello, love!" Derek said, as walked over to Karen. She kissed him on the cheek, before he turned and greeted Ana, congratulating her for her superb acting as the Diva.

"—And Karen was wonderful too, as usual!" he said. Karen smiled.

"Thank you!" she said, as Ivy walked over.

"Hi! You were great tonight. Both of you!" she said.

"Thanks." Karen mumbled.

"Hi, where've you been?" Derek asked. He kissed her, though he didn't look like someone who just started a relationship with the woman he loved.

"I ate at a local cafe, spent time with Sam and then came here. You?" she asked back.

"I spent the afternoon working on a new choreography for 'Original', and then came straight here." he answered.

At that moment, Jimmy walked in, joining the group.

"Hey, K." he said, kissing Karen. Derek purposely looked away. Ana saw him do it and couldn't help but smile.

"What are you so cheerful about?" Jimmy asked Ana, as he separated him self from Karen.

"Nothing. I just realized that I just performed as the Diva again. A few weeks ago I thought that would never happen!" she lied.

Everyone in the room smiled. They all hated Daisy!

"And I'm happy I'll be taking the role of Jesse back from Sam soon!" Jimmy announced

He and Ivy accidentally made eye contact, and Ivy's smile faded, though Jimmy just nodded at her, grinning even more. Ivy gave him a small smile, to show kindness, before looking away.

"So, who wants to go get drunk?" Jimmy asked.

"Er, no." Ana refused.

"I'll pass." Derek said.

"Umm, I'm exhausted, so I think I'll head home." Karen excused herself, as she headed out, saying goodbye to her friends.

There was a silence. Ivy just stood there, unaware that everyone was looking at her. When she realized, she felt a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, umm, no thanks." she said. Jimmy looked a bit disappointed, but did his best to hide it.

By the way, his best should have been better for an actor.

"It's just, with the party tomorrow, I don't think I should drink." she justified.

"Why not? Afraid you won't be able to sober up in time?" Ana teased. Ivy looked uncomfortable.

"Well, we have better go!" Derek cut in before things got awkward. Ivy looked relieved.

"Okay. I'll stay, I have to go get my stuff and check something with Sam. See ya'!" Jimmy said.

Ana, Derek and Ivy stepped out. Ana said goodbye before heading back towards her apartment.

"Want to take a cab or walk?" Derek asked. Ivy looked hesitant.

"Ummm... Cab! But I forgot my purse, so I'll be back in a sec'!" she said, as she headed back inside.

She took her purse, and was about to head out when she saw Jimmy, packing his back pack. He looked much less cheerful than he had a few minutes ago, and Ivy couldn't help but feel sympathy.

"Hey." she said, a little louder than a whisper. She didn't know why she spoke quietly, but it just felt right.

"Oh, hi." Jimmy turned around, just now noticing her presence. "Forget something?" he asked.

"Just my purse." she said, gesturing her hand at it.

"Oh." Jimmy said.

None of them said anything. It was a mixture of comfort and awkwardness that filled the silence.

"I'm, um, sorry that I was harsh with you earlier." Ivy apologized.

"No problem. It's actually exactly what I needed." Jimmy said.

"Really?" Ivy asked. She hadn't expected that.

"Yeah." Jimmy said, a casual smile on his face.

"Okay. Great, then. See you tomorrow… If you're coming, that is." Ivy said, as she slowly walked towards the exit.

"I am. See you then." he said.

"Yeah." Ivy said, still speaking quietly. She walked out, to find Derek chatting with a taxi driver.

"Hey. Ready to go?" Ivy asked.

"Yeah, sure." Derek said, before returning his attention to the driver, as Ivy stepped into the car, still thinking about the conversation she just had.

Derek stepped into the cab. The driver was much quieter once he was driving. In fact, he didn't speak at all.

That should have given Ivy and Derek a chance to talk. But it didn't.

They both just stared out the window.

They weren't a very communicative couple. The only things they really ever discussed was work and the baby.  
The first night was great. It was like they were the most love-struck couple there ever was. But once morning came, they were the same old Ivy and Derek. They tried, but it didn't work. After a day or two, they just gave up.

It was funny. There had only been a few days since the Tonys, since they got back together, and they were already like an old married couple, with nothing to say to one another.

When the cab got to Derek's apartment, Derek stepped out.

"You coming?" he asked.

"Umm… I think I'll stay at my place tonight." Ivy said, an apologetic tone in her voice.

"You sure?" Derek frowned.

"Yeah."

"…Fine, suit yourself." said the man. He didn't seem very affected by this. In fact, he seemed eager to be over with this conversation so that he could go home. He kissed Ivy goodbye, before walking to his apartment.

Ivy told the driver to take her home. As the cab flew across the city, Ivy looked at her phone.

"I'll need this soon…" she thought, as she added a contact name: 'Jimmy Collins'.

* * *

"Your building burnt down?!" Tom asked, eyes widening.

"Yes. Just a few hours ago!" Julia announced, lying down on Tom's couch.

"Wow… where are you going to stay?" Tom asked.

"That's the issue. She would stay with me, but Leo is going to move in with her, and he hates me, so I doubt he'll take well to his mom dating me. So she could stay with you, but she doesn't want to impose. After all, she stayed with you last year. And we have to tell Leo about us eventually, and even if we don't want him to over react, we still want him to understand that we are serious about each other." Michael explained.

Tom blinked at him, taken aback by all this information. "Wait…" he said. "Leo wants to move in with you? That's great! And you two are dating? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked.

"Didn't we tell him?" Julia frowned.

"You know, I think we forgot." Michael reckoned.

"Oh." Julia said.

"Well, anyway, if you really want to, of course you can stay with me. But you have really got to tell Leo." Tom said.

"I know…" Julia said, wondering why everything was always so complicated for her.

* * *

Jimmy walked home. He grabbed the weed from his bag and lit it up.

He was about to smoke it when the words echoed in his head.

"If you want to make things right, then do something about it!" he remembered Ivy saying.

She made a fair point. His life was crumbling apart. He was stuck in a faulty relationship that should have been a quick fling, nothing serious. He had pissed off his best friend, which indirectly led to his death. Everything was a mess.

And what did he have to thank? Drugs! The day he started using marked the beginning of his problems.

"And now I hope the day I stop will mark the end." he thought, as he looked down at the pathetic looking dried up plant in his hand.

He walked to the bridge and looked down at the river. The current was strong tonight. He smiled, more excited about something than he had been in a long time.

With all his strength, he threw the weed as far as he could.

He let out a loud laugh, feeling more alive, and more in control, and freer, and generally happier than he had ever felt.

There was a loud sound of thunder, and rain started pouring. Jimmy laughed even more.

"Thanks, Ivy…" he thought.

* * *

ding-dong

Eileen headed towards her door. It was late and she wasn't expecting anyone, so she was rather curious who it could be.

She opened the door, only to find the person she least wanted to see: her ex-husband.

Before he could say anything, she swung the door closed. But Jerry managed to stick his foot in, so that it didn't actually close.

"Trying to get rid of me, I see." he chuckled.

"Wow. How did you guess?" Eileen said coldly. Jerry laughed again.

"There's no point in trying to shut me out, you know. I'm much stronger than you." he said, as he pushed past Eileen into her living room.

He sat down on her couch. Eileen rolled her eyes.

"I take it you're going to my party tomorrow." he said.

"Yes, but only because it's a big social event and there will be many potential investors." Eileen said.

"Yeah, right." Jerry snickered.

"My boyfriend will be coming too." Eileen said. Jerry raised an eyebrow.

"Nice try." he said.

"He is." Eileen announced.

Jerry laughed again. "I'm looking forward to meeting him then." he said, as he got up.

Eileen accompanied him to the door.

"Oh, one last thing." he said, as he gave Eileen a little box. Eileen looked in it. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the huge diamond in it.

"Hope you like it!" Jerry gave Eileen an arrogant grin before closing the door behind him.

Eileen looked at the diamond closer. She continued staring at it for a minute or so, before coming back to reality and throwing it down onto her table as she went to get herself a drink.

She looked back once at the beautiful gem before continuing to her kitchen.

**Sadly, this FANTASTIC chapter is over. But no worries, as I said at the beginning, I will update in a few days. **

**Leave a review if you want to! And I hope you have or had a nice day, depending on what time you read this at. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, here is the sixth chapter! I'm so sorry, I meant to upload it days ago, but I had writer's block! Also, I wasn't bothered to write (I'm a terrible person!).**

**But it's ready now, so enjoy!**

Chapter 6:

_The next morning, the day of the party._

Ana was just wandering about the city. It was one of her only days off from her show(s), and she loved New York City in the morning. It was just so alive.

She stopped at a cafe to get breakfast. That was her favorite part. She loved being alone and just eating, and thinking about stuff.

"Mind if I join you?" a man with a british accent asked.

"Not at all!" Ana said. Her director sat down next to her.

They exchanged small talk, the director congratulating her once again on her great acting last night. A waiter came and they both ordered.

"Aren't you with Ivy?" Ana asked.

"No, she stayed at her own apartment tonight." Derek said.

"Oh. Having relationship problems?" Ana asked, with a knowing smirk. Derek looked up at her swiftly. For a second he looked confused, before he went back to masking his emotions.

"No." he said. Ana gave him an I'm not an idiot look. Derek sighed loudly.

"It's just… we don't connect, you know?" he complained. "The only things we have in common is that we are dedicated to our work, but who wants to talk about that all day? At least with Karen I can—"

"Aaaah… Karen…" Ana cut him off, speaking in a teasing tone.

"What? I'm not allowed to have a female friend?" Derek asked, his accent becoming even more noticeable, which was a sign that he was annoyed.

"A female friend that you're in love with?" Ana pointed out.

Derek seemed taken aback by what she had just said. He was just staring at her, his eyes wide.

"I'm not in love with Karen." he stated, as he hid his surprise once more with his emotionless mask.

"Yeah, you are." Ana stated, almost amused by how hard he was trying to hide it.

"No, I'm not!" Derek's insisted, getting visibly very annoyed.

"Hey, it's okay!" Ana said. "First of all, you obviously are, otherwise you wouldn't get so irritated about it. Second, you obviously don't feel that way about Ivy. I'm sure you want to, but—"

"Oi, I care about Ivy!" Derek said in a threatening tone.

"I never said you didn't. But you don't care the way you want to." Ana said.

Derek still seemed shocked by what he was just told. He blinked, before standing up. "Goodbye, Ana. It was nice talking to you." he said, as he put his coat back on and stormed out of the cafe, his anger showing in the way he walked.

Ana smiled, satisfied with her conversation with Derek. She didn't get the reaction she expected. She didn't get him to confess his love for Karen. But the reaction she got was very interesting…

* * *

Karen woke up at 11 a.m.

She turned around in bed, before noticing the time and jumping out of bed. Even on days she didn't work, she didn't like to lie in past ten. Unless she had a hangover, that is.

She went to her kitchen to get breakfast. She opened her fridge, before turning around and seeing her boyfriend, sleeping on the couch.

"Uh-hum!" she coughed. Jimmy woke up, a tired look on his face.

"When did you get in?" Karen asked, as she made him scoot over so that she could sit on the couch.

"Ummm… around midnight…" Jimmy reckoned.

"Why did you sleep on the couch?" Karen asked. She was worried. Maybe Jimmy was catching on about her feelings for Derek. But she wasn't even sure what her feelings for Jimmy were. She still cared for him. Like Ana said, feelings don't disappear over night. And even if she didn't love him anymore, she would want to break up with him in a soft gentle fashion, and not have him think that she was cheating on him or considering it…Because she wasn't.

"I didn't want to wake you up." he said.

Karen could tell he was lying. He was a great actor, but a terrible liar.

"Jimmy…" Karen warned.

"What? It's true!" Jimmy laughed awkwardly.

"Fine. I believe you." Karen gave up. She finished her bowl of cereal quickly, before getting up and heading to her room.

"Where are you going?" Jimmy asked.

"I need to choose a dress for tonight!" Karen said, as she opened her closet.

"But it's only 11 a.m."

"Yeah, but I just really want to choose the dress now. Otherwise I'm going to be thinking about what to wear for the whole day." Karen explained.

"What's so special about this party?" Jimmy asked.

"Huh?"

"Usually you don't care what you wear! The only time you do is when you particularly want to look good!" Jimmy stated. "So, I ask you again: what's so special about this party?"

Karen blinked at him. "Nothing." she lied, slightly taken aback by Jimmy's knowledge of her interest in clothing.

* * *

"Come on, Leo! Pick up!" Julia mumbled, as she walked around Tom's apartment, phone in her hand.

She hadn't seen him since he asked her to move in with her, because he had gone to get his stuff at his dad's apartment. And now that her apartment was gone and she was staying at Tom's place, she really needed to speak with him. Partly to tell him that he was going to be living with Tom as well as her, and partly to finally tell him about Michael.

Finally, he answered. "Hey, mom!"

"Leo, I have to tell you something."

"Sure, go ahead!"

"No, it's better if it's in person."

"Okaaaay… Should I be worried?"

"No, of course not!"

"Okay, then I'll see you at the party tonight. I'm spending the day with a friend. Bye!" Leo hung up before Julia could object.

She sighed.

"You tell him?" Tom asked.

"No, I want to do it in person, it's better. But the earliest he wants to see me is tonight, at the party." Julia explained.  
"You're not going to tell him there, are you?"

"No, of course not. He might make a scene. But I already told him I had something to tell him, if I don't say anything he might get suspicious."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll help you postpone telling him until we get home." Tom said.

Julia gave him a thankful look. If there was anyone she could rely on – anyone who would always be there for her – it was Tom.

* * *

_A few hours later._

Eileen drove over to Tom's place. She had seemed confident when she told Tom that they were going together, and she had been. But as the party approached, she felt more and more nervous.

She wasn't considering getting back together with Jerry. No, choosing in between him and Nick was easy. But Jerry had been so much easier to handle when they were together.

Sure, he was a terrible husband, but back then, he was almost… predictable. She always knew exactly what he was thinking about, be it her or some pretty blonde. And right now, the thing she needed most was to be able to tell what someone was thinking. Anyone!

She couldn't help but wonder: what if…

She shook the thought out of her head. As much as she hated the constant battle in between her and her ex-husband, she also loved it.

It wasn't the fighting she enjoyed, though. That was just a big bundle of stress and self doubt and constantly wanting to punch something. What she enjoyed was the winning. That glorious feeling when she got to burst Jerry's ego and put him down, no matter how long it took until he climbed back up to thinking he was the center of the universe.  
Every single time she got as much as a frown from his face was a victory.

Of course, sometimes she lost, too. Sometimes Jerry was just better than her. But that didn't matter to Eileen.

Because, this time, she was going to win. Permanently.

When Eileen got to Tom's apartment, she knew what she had to do.

She knocked, and waited a second before Julia answered the door.

"Julia. What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?" she asked, as she gave her friend a hug.

"Actually, I live here now… my apartment burnt down." Julia announced.

"Oh… I'm so sorry… did anyone get hurt?"

"No… thank God!" Julia said. "Oh… come in!" she said.

"Hey, Eileen. I thought I was coming to pick you up." Tom said, as he hugged Eileen.

"I was out and I didn't feel like going back home! Here's your suit!" Julia said, as she handed it to him.

"You're going together?" Julia asked, as Tom went off to change.

Eileen explained everything to Julia.

"But, Jerry met Tom! He knows who he is! He even called Tom personally to invite him." Julia stated.

"Trust me, he won't remember! He has a list of important people in the world of Broadway, and generally rich people in Manhattan. The fact that he called Tom personally just means he was one of the first people to be invited before Jerry got bored." Eileen assured.

"If you say so!" Julia said.

"Aren't you coming?" Eileen asked, as she looked at the woman in pajamas standing in front of her.

"Umm, yeah, why?" Julia asked.

"You're in pajamas!" Eileen told her.

Julia looked down at her clothes. "Oh…" she said, before running off to get changed.

Tom came back a few seconds later.

"You look stunning! Jerry will never guess you're not a millionaire!" Eileen said.

* * *

"I love Jerry's parties!" Bobby announced, as Ivy brushed her hair. "I mean, I hate the man, but he does know how to throw a party!"

"More like how to pay someone to do it for him!" Ivy chuckled, as she stood up, her look complete.

"You look great!" Jessica said. Bobby and Sam agreed.

"Thank you!" Ivy smiled.

"So is it true you're dating Derek?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah." Ivy said, smile running away from her face. She didn't know why, but just thinking about her relationship with Derek made her grumpy.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Nothing! Let's go!" Ivy said, suddenly cheering up.  
"Yeah!" Bobby threw his fist up in the air.

They all walked out of Ivy's apartment, laughing.

**Up next: the PARTY! What will happen? If you have any suggestions, PM me! :)**


End file.
